Beanie Wells and Ryan Williams, together, were averaging less than 3 yards per carry through five games, so it’s fair to ask just how much the Cardinals are going to miss them.

The answer is simple: a lot.

The Cardinals are averaging 2.7 yards a rushing attempt, the lowest in the NFL, but the chances of bolstering an anemic running game are better if Wells and Williams, their top two backs, are healthy.

That’s not going to happen in 2012, or perhaps ever.

Wells is out until at least late November with a torn toe ligament. That’s the best-case scenario, and the best-case scenario has never applied to Wells when it comes to injuries.

Williams is out for the season after undergoing surgery on Wednesday to repair a fractured coracoid process. (That’s a hook-looking structure near the top of the shoulder.)

Wells and Williams were supposed to be a thunder-and-lightning combination. With size and power, Wells was going to supply the thunder. With quickness and vision, Williams was going to produce the lightning.

But the two never kicked up even a minor dust storm.

Both were coming off major knee problems: Williams suffered a torn patellar tendon a year ago, and Wells underwent a procedure in January. He won’t disclose the nature of the surgery but microfracture is suspected.

Wells didn’t appear to be fully healthy even before suffering the turf toe injury against Philadelphia in Week3.

That injury thrust Williams into the starting lineup, but he didn’t do much in two games. He suffered the shoulder injury last Thursday when he was hit violently by Rams safety Darian Stewart at the end of a 12-yard run.

That hit ended Williams’ season, and no one can be sure when we will see Wells again in 2012.

In the short term, it appears the Cardinals will go with a rotation of LaRod Stephens-Howling, William Powell and Alfonso Smith. Fantasy football owners will recognize a number of available running backs, including Tim Hightower, formerly with the Cardinals; Cadillac Williams; and Joseph Addai.

The Cardinals have signed no one.

There’s a risk with standing pat, if only because of numbers. Stephens-Howling has missed the past two games with a hip flexor injury, and even when he’s healthy, Stephens-Howling is a better situational player.

At 5 feet 7 inches and 185 pounds, he’s not built to carry a heavy workload for the next 11 games.

And Powell and Smith are unproven. Powell beat out Smith in training camp, and then Smith was re-signed when Wells and Stephens-Howling were injured.

Powell was a phenom in the preseason, leading the NFL in rushing. But most of those yards came against players at the bottom of rosters. Powell is coming off a concussion suffered in the Rams game.

Smith didn’t get much playing time a year ago, even though Wells was hobbled with the knee injury the latter half of the season.

It won’t matter who carries the ball, however, unless the blocking improves. Wells and Williams can’t be absolved of blame for the lack of production on the ground. Both missed holes, and neither looked like they were fully recovered from their knee problems.

In today’s NFL, it’s fallacy to believe that a team needs a strong running game to win. But it needs a running game. That especially true for the Cardinals, who don’t have a dynamic passing game.

The improvement must begin in the offensive line, and that’s not going to be easy.

D’Anthony Batiste is playing out of position at left tackle. Right tackle Bobby Massie is a rookie.

The strength of the offensive line is in the three interior positions: center Lyle Sendlein and guards Daryn Colledge and Adam Snyder. But that group has its troubles, too.

Snyder suffered an elbow injury shortly before the season. The team isn’t disclosing the nature of the problem, but Snyder, who signed as a free agent before the season, is clearly struggling.

It won’t be a surprise if backup Rich Ohrnberger plays at some point this season, and it won’t be a surprise if Snyder’s elbow requires surgery in the off-season.

The one ray of sunshine through all the gloom is that coach Ken Whisenhunt’s players usually perform better when they perceive that no one outside the locker room believes in them.

Well, guess what, guys?

Bills in town

The Buffalo Bills, who lost in San Francisco over the weekend and play here against the Cardinals on Sunday, opted to stay in the West and train at ASU in the Verde Dickey Dome this week. Practices are closed to the public. The Cardinals, who have used the indoor facility for the past couple of years, have had the Dickey Dome reserved on Wednesdays and Thursdays since they broke training camp, but since temperatures are cooling, this is the last week they have it reserved.

According to Rocky Harris, ASU senior associate athletic director for communications, NFL teams and college football bowl teams are the only squads allowed to use the facility. ASU charges an undisclosed fee for its use.

—Doug Haller

Coach’s corner

“There’s little technique things as far as maybe being 2 yards outside the hash or being inside split on the numbers or making sure that you have the right type of stance; those kinds of things. A lot of times, because the margins are so tight in this league, plays are dependent on that, and (Thursday) night we didn’t do a very good job of that, especially in the red zone. We had a couple opportunities for plays that would have been better, which we would have scored and would have made a difference in the game. Those are the things I was disappointed about.”

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